Vehicle crash tests are generally carried out as real vehicle tests in which an actual vehicle is caused to crash into a barrier (a fixed wall). A vehicle crash test apparatus for carrying out this kind of test is disclosed for example in JP-A-8-145839, “A Connection Wire Anti-Slip Device in a Vehicle Crash Test Apparatus”.
A road surface of this vehicle crash test apparatus has a gutter formed underneath it along the road surface up to in front of an impact barrier, and guide rails are laid in this gutter. A first skater having a connecting part for connecting to it a connecting wire for leading a test vehicle to the impact barrier is fitted movably to the guide rail. A second skater connected to the first skater and having a wire towing rope attached to it is also fitted movably to the guide rail in the same way. A damper which can be connected to the wire towing rope is mounted on the second skater. The first skater is connected to the damper by a connecting belt, and a striker for the first skater and the second skater to hit is provided at the impact barrier end of the guide rail. Also, the damper has a moving gripper and a fixed gripper for gripping the wire towing rope. A second rod part for actuating a trigger lever for releasing the connecting part for connecting the connecting wire connected to the first skater is provided projecting from a main body of the striker which the damper hits.
In this test apparatus, the first skater, the second skater and the striker all project above the test vehicle road surface. For example in an offset crash test, in which the test vehicle is caused to crash into the impact barrier while offset to the right or left with respect to its forward direction, to reduce offset error of the test vehicle with respect to the reference offset amount it is necessary for the test vehicle to be brought as close as possible to the impact barrier with the first skater before it is caused to crash. And it has happened that immediately after the impact the test vehicle hits the first skater, the second skater or the striker, or, because the width of the gutter in the test vehicle road surface is large, a wheel of the test vehicle slips into the gutter after the impact, and the crash test is not carried out precisely, and time and effort is needed to carry out the test again. Because of this, an improvement to a crash test apparatus for executing crash tests with good accuracy has been awaited.
Also, when the trigger lever of the first skater hits the second rod part projecting from the main body of the striker, the connecting wire pulling the test vehicle comes off. As a result, the tension in the connecting belt connecting the damper and the first skater decreases and the moving gripper of the damper turns about a pin under the shock of the impact with the striker. Then, the gripping of the wire towing rope by the moving gripper and the fixed gripper is released; however, when the tension of the connecting belt does not decrease, it becomes difficult for the moving gripper to turn, the gripping of the wire towing rope is not released smoothly, a delay arises in the release of the gripping, and the shock to the striker becomes excessive. Also, because the first skater and the damper are separate and the number of parts is large, the cost of the apparatus itself is high, and there has been a need to reduce the number of parts and achieve a reduction in cost.